Archdiocese 1st To Seek Bankruptcy

Oregon's Portland Archdiocese Said It Wasn't Trying To Avoid Compensating For Sex Abuse.

July 7, 2004|By Larry B. Stammer Los Angeles Times

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, becoming the first Catholic diocese in the United States to seek financial protection against millions of dollars in potential sexual-abuse claims.

Though Portland is the first, it probably will not be the last of the 195 U.S. dioceses to seek court protection from the scandal's effects. The Diocese of Tucson, Ariz., is expected to seek bankruptcy protection by mid-September, according to that diocese's vicar general, the Rev. Van Wagner. Tucson's Bishop Gerald Kicanas has likened the mounting sexual-abuse claims to a monsoon.

Others, particularly among smaller dioceses with relatively few assets that can be sold, could follow suit. In doing so, bishops would cross a line that U.S. church leaders until now had hesitated to pass. Although the Roman Catholic Church is theologically and liturgically united, each diocese operates as a separate legal entity.

In a bankruptcy reorganization, a judge can limit how much a person who is owed money will receive. Plaintiffs who claim injuries must wait in line along with other creditors. But bankruptcy also means the bishop could lose large portions of his authority over the temporal affairs of his diocese. Diocesan operations would be under a bankruptcy court's scrutiny.

Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny announced his decision in a letter to parishes. At a news conference later, he told reporters: "The pot of gold is pretty much empty right now."

Vlazny said the archdiocese wasn't attempting to avoid its responsibility to compensate molestation victims, but attempting to assure fairness in distributing available funds -- and keep running the day-to-day ministries that serve 350,000 Catholics and others.